Golden age (metaphor)

Agolden ageis a period considered the peak in the history of a country or people, a time period when thegreatestachievements were made. The term originated from earlyGreekandRomanpoets, who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure (seeGolden Age).

The metaphor of aGolden Ageis often invoked for high points of lost knowledge in the mythical past of mankind, also in the context of lost continents such asLemuriaorMu(also known asKumari Kandam).

Theancient GreekpoetHesiodintroduced the term in hisWorks and Days,when referring to the period when the "Golden Race" of man lived. This was part of fivefold division ofAges of Man,starting with the Golden age, then theSilver Age,the Bronze Age, theAge of Heroes(including theTrojan War), and finally, the current Iron Age.The concept was further refined byOvid,in hisMetamorphoses,into the four "metal ages" (golden, silver, bronze, and iron).

The Golden age in Classic literature

Main article:Golden Age

The Golden AgebyLucas Cranach the Elder,1530

The Golden AgebyJoachim Wtewael,1605

The Golden age as described by Hesiod was an age where all humans were created directly by the Olympian gods. They lived long lives in peace and harmony, and were oblivious of death. The "Golden race" were however mortals, but would die peacefully and in their sleep unmarked by sickness and age.Ovid emphasizes the justice and peace that defined the Golden Age. He described it as a time before man learned the art of navigation, and as a pre-agricultural society.The idea of a Golden age lingered in literature and historical understanding throughout the Greek and Roman periods.It was partly replaced by the ChristianSix Ages of the Worldbased on the biblical chronology in the earlyMiddle Ages.

Evolution from period to metaphor

See also:Arcadia (utopia)andOriginal affluent society

The term "Golden age" has always had a metaphoric element. A few centuries after Hesiod,Platopointed out that the "Golden race" were not made from gold as such, but that the term should be understood metaphorically.The classical idea of the "metal ages" as actual historical periods held sway throughout the Greek and Roman periods.While supplemented bySt. Augustine's "Six Ages of the World",the classical ideas were never entirely eradicated, and it resurfaced to form the basis of division of time in earlyarchaeology.

At the birth of modern archaeology in the 18th century, the "Golden age" was associated with a pre-agricultural society. However, already in the 16th century, the term "Golden age" was replaced by "Stone Age"in thethree-age system.Still,Rousseauused the term for a loosely defined historical period characterized by the "State of nature"as late as the late 18th century.While the concept of an Iron and Bronze Age are still used by historians and archaeologists, the "Golden age" of Hesiod was a purely mythical period, and has come to signify any period in history where the state of affairs for a specific phenomenon appear to have been on their height, better than in the periods preceding it and following the "Golden Age". It is sometimes still employed for thehunter-gatherertribal societies of theMesolithic,but only as a metaphor.

Golden Age in society timeline

A society's Golden Age marks that period in its history having a heightened output of art, science, literature, and philosophy.

Acropolis,rebuilt byPericlesduring theAthenian Golden Age

• Ancient Egyptexperienced several Golden Ages, including theFourth Dynastyduring theOld Kingdom,as well as theNew Kingdom
• TheBelle Epoqueperiod is considered France's golden age as it was a time when culture, science, and living standards reached their peak
• Athenian Golden Agepresided byPericles
• 14th & 15th century Africawere a golden age for West Africa, when trade routes flourished, leading to the advancement of Mathematics and Science.
• Golden age of Latin literature,the period inLatin literaturebetweenCiceroandOvid
• The age of the"Five Good Emperors"during thePrincipate,part of thePax Romanaperiod, is generally considered the zenith of theRoman Empire,andEdward Gibboneven considered it the happiest age of humanity
• Golden age of India
  • Gupta Empire,during whichIndiansmade great achievements inmathematics,science,culture,religion,philosophyandastronomy.
  • Maurya Empireis also considered a golden age as mathematics, science and the arts during its zenith. Many historians have considered that during the Maurya era, the Indian subcontinent generated close to one-third of global GDP, which would be the highest the region would ever contribute.
  • Vijayanagara Empireis also considered the golden age of Indian astronomy, mathematics, arts and architecture.
  • Chola Empireis considered to be a golden age in South India with achievements ofliterature,architecture,engineeringand as well as being an economic powerhouse.
  • Mughal Empirewas considered the last golden age of India, when India last had 1/4th of the global economy and construction of monuments such as theTaj MahalandRed Fort.
• TheClassic PeriodofMesoamerica(3rd to 9th century), the era whenTeotihuacandominated central Mexico and several importantMaya city statesreached their apogee.
• Early Christian Ireland,when Ireland was united under oneHigh Kingand was significant in European art
• Islamic Golden Agein which Islamic scientific achievements spanned a wide range of subject areas includingmedicine,mathematics,astronomy,andagricultureas well asphysics,economics,engineeringandoptics.
  • Reign ofHarun al-Rashid(786–809), the height of theAbbasid Caliphate,before theFourth Fitna,theAnarchy at Samarra,and the onset of political fragmentation
  • More generally from the reign of Harun al-Rashid until thesack of Baghdad by the Mongols(1258) in the Arab world.

TheMacedonian erais often cited as the Golden Age ofByzantium

• Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty(867–1056), has been dubbed the "Golden Age" ofByzantium
• Golden age of Kyiv,10th century
• China has hadmultiple golden ages,with theHan(especially theRule of Wen and Jingand theRule of Ming and Zhang),Tang,Song,MingandQingall considered golden ages in Chinese history. The "Chinese Golden Age" is used to refer to the period of the Tang and Song Dynasties from 618 to 1279, which saw aneconomic revolution
• Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula,the period between 900 and 1100. Sometimes categorized as part of the larger Islamic Golden Age, because of the event's timeframe and geography
• Golden age ofChristian monasticism,8th–12th centuries, its peak being 11th century to early-mid 12th century. Understood to be a golden age in the European continent of strictly religious matters, and not in comparison to other golden ages of the era
• Golden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture,a golden age inBulgaria
• Georgian Golden Age,the period of prosperity and cultural flourishing in theKingdom of Georgiain the 11th, 12th, and early 13th centuries, especially under QueenTamar the Great
• Golden Age inIndonesian historyfrom about 1293 to around 1500 when the Hindu–BuddhistMajapahitkingdom in eastern Java, underGajah Mada,extended its influence to much of southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali.
• Second Golden Age of Bulgaria, the prosperity of Bulgarian culture, literature and arts during EmperorIvan Alexander(1331–1371)
• Golden Age of Serbia, during theSerbian Empire,under the reigns of TsarsStefan DušanandStefan Uroš V,when the country reached its greatest territorial extent, spanning from theDanubein the north to theGulf of Corinthin the south(1346–1371)
• Portuguese Golden Ages
  • Portuguese Golden Age,15th century – 1580. Possibly the European power of the time most proficient in sailing
  • Second Portuguese Golden Age, Brazilian gold rush, late 17th century to 19th century
• Golden age of Valencian literature, 15th century
• Ottoman Golden Age, 1450s–1560s, partly under the reign ofSuleiman the Magnificent
• TheHigh Renaissanceof the 16th century is often described as the "golden age" of the culture and art ofRenaissance Italy
• Thehistory of Malta under the Order of Saint John(1530–1798) is generally considered as a "golden age" of architecture, the arts, health and education, especially between the late 1560s and the early 1770s
• TheSpanish Golden Age(siglo de oro) corresponds to the reign of theCatholic Monarchsand of theHabsburgsbetween 1492 and 1659, a period marked by a powerfulSpanish Empireand by the flourishing of the arts
• English Golden Ages
  • The "Golden Age of England" is theElizabethan era,underElizabeth I of England,in the late 16th century, as her reign is often depicted as a golden age and the high point of theEnglish Renaissance.
  • The "Golden Age of Britain" is theVictorian era,under Queen Victoria, in the 19th century

    

    TheVictorian erais often cited as the Golden Age of Britain

• Polish Golden Age,14th century, end of 17th century
• Dutch Golden Age,17th century, approximately 1588–1672
  • Golden Age of Dutch Painting,spanning the 17th century
  • Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography,c. 1590s–1720s
• Golden age of Belarusian history,1500s–1570s, esp. 1550s–1570s
• Grand Siècle,the reigns ofLouis XIIIandLouis XIV.
• TheGolden Age of Piracy,1650–1730

  

  TheForty-seven Ronin,one of the best known themes from theJapanese Golden Age

• TheGenrokuera (1688–1704) in Japan is widely considered a "golden age" for literature, drama, and the arts
• Danish Golden Age,first half of the 19th century
• Golden Age of Russian Poetry,first half of the 19th century, with Russian poetsPushkin,Lermontov,Tyutchevand others
• Golden Age of Capitalism,a period of rapid growth in the economies of the west, and Japan, from 1945 to 1970. Also used for theGilded Ageof the late 19th century
• TheGolden Twenties,the 1920s in Europe, theRoaring Twentieswere the American equivalent
• Likewise in the United States, theAmerican Centurymay be taken to represent a golden age of global cultural influence and political hegemony

Culture and technology

A golden age is often ascribed to the years immediately following a technological innovation that allows new forms of expression and new ideas. Examples include:

• Golden age ofchocolate,1850-1900
• Golden age of illustration,1880s-1910s
• Golden age of board games,1880s-1920sor2000-present
• TheGolden Age of the Piano,roughly the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th
• The Golden Age of Radio,1920s–1940s
• The Golden Age of American animation,between 1928 (sound) and the 1960s (television).
• TheGolden Age of Hollywood,which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the 1960s
• TheGolden Age of Argentine cinema,from the 1930s to the 1950s
• Golden Age of Television(referring to U.S. television circa 1950s) whentelevisionwas still a fairly recent invention. Programs such asKraft Television Theatre,Playhouse 90,and laterAlfred Hitchcock PresentsandThe Twilight Zonebrought a level of writing to American commercial television that would rarely be seenin the next several decades.
• Golden age of Gameshows,late 50s to early 60s
• Golden Age ofMuscle Cars,1964–1972.
• Golden Age of Pornography,refers to a 15-year period (around 1969–1984) incommercial American pornography,which spread internationally,in which sexually-explicit films gained positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the general public.It began withreleaseof the 1969 filmBlue Moviedirected byAndy Warhol,and the 1970 filmMonaproduced byBill Osco.Those were the firstadult erotic films,depicting explicitsex,to receive wide theatrical release in theUnited States.During that period, pornographic films emerged from underground studios, and became a full-scale industry with aspirations to become part of mainstream cinema.
• Golden age of arcade video games,late 1970s-1980s
• Golden Era of Spanish Software,1983–1992
• TheGolden Age of radio-controlled buggies,1983–1992. A period when model companies shifted towards practical electric-powered buggies, leading to numerous companies (including toy manufacturers) entering the market and helping it to become the dominant class.
• Golden age of hip hop,mid 1980s–mid 1990s a period when hip-hop music was arguably at its creative and artistic peak
• Golden age of Manga,1980s-1990s
• Second Golden Age of Television,1999–2023, a period of high-quality and often scripted American television programming that started withThe Sopranos,The Wire,Breaking Bad,andMad Men(among others) and ended with the2023 Hollywood labor disputesandstreaming wars
• Golden age of race queenshad enjoyed two eras; the first was the swimsuit cladrace queen bubbleof the late 1980s to late 1990sand the miniskirtedsecond golden age of race queenof the 2000s, when the influx of models came with the ability to draw the same as or bigger popularity than some of the drivers competing in the events.

At least one technology had its "Golden Age" in its latter years:

• The GoldenAge of Sail,19th century.

A cultural "golden age" can feature in the construction of anational myth.

Genres

Technology and creativity spawn new genres or new surges in the production of literature and the arts. The onset (or dominance or heyday) of a new genre/movement, in popular parlance, becomes its "Golden Age". For example:

• Golden age of Swordplay, period ofswordskills from the 16th to the 18th centuries
• Golden Age ofBroadway,the period from about 1943 to 1968 that brought musicals likeOklahoma!(1943);Kiss Me, Kate(1948);West Side Story(1957);The Sound of Music(1959); andHello, Dolly!(1964) to the Broadway stage
• Golden Age ofBritish dance bands,1920s–1930s
• Golden Age of the British whodunit,early 20th-century
• Golden Age of Comic Books,period between roughly 1938 and 1945, though exact definitions vary
• Golden Age of Mexican cinema,beginning in 1935 and ending in the late 1950s
• Golden Age of Science Fiction,period from the late 1930s through the 1950s
• Golden Age of the Western, of theWesternmovie, 1930s–1960s
• Golden Age of Detective Fiction,an era of detective fiction between World Wars I and II, epitomised byAgatha Christie
• Golden age of the Italian horror movie (c.1957–1979)
• Golden age ofJapanese cinema,1950s
• The golden age ofFast Foodbuffets,1980s to the early 1990s
• Golden Age ofromantic comedies,1990s
• Golden age ofJ-horror,1999 to 2005
• The golden age ofconsole RPGs,1990s to early 2000s

Science

• Golden age of cosmology(1992–present)
• Golden age of general relativity,upon its entering the mainstream of theoretical physics, 1960–1975.
• Golden age of physics(19th century) withmodern physics(quantum mechanicsand thetheory of relativity)

Senior citizens

Some companies use "Golden Age" as a marketingeuphemismfor "senior citizen",itself a euphemism for" old person ".

• Golden Age Passport,aNational Park Servicepass for citizens who are 62 or older.

Sport

See also:Golden generation

• Thegolden age of alpinism(1854–1865), during which many major Alpine peaks saw their first ascents.
• TheGolden Age of cricket(1890–1914)
• Golden age of baseball(1920–1960)
• Golden age of American soccer(1921-1931)
• Golden Age of Roller Skating(1937–1959)
• Golden age ofBowling(1940s-1970s)
• Golden Age ofAmerican Football(1950s-1960s)
• Golden Age of Trans-Am Series(1968–1972)
• Golden Age of Rallying(1983–1986), when loosened design rules produced powerful cars and a peak of popularity.

See also

• Gilded Age
• Heroic Age (disambiguation)
• Silver age
• Bronze Age (disambiguation)